


It Could Be...

by muscatmusic18



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: But then this happened, F/M, Fluff, I'm supposed to be working on something else, Married Life, Pregnancy, oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-28 09:44:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11415297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muscatmusic18/pseuds/muscatmusic18
Summary: Some people know they're pregnant when they start to feel sick, or they start to crave salty snacks. Peggy, or rather, Daniel, knows she's pregnant when she starts to hog blankets.





	It Could Be...

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I'm supposed to be working on my other fics that actually have a plot line, but I wrote this to overcome my writer's block. Good news, it worked! Bad news, this isn't the best piece I've ever done so... judge lightly ;)

Daniel knew Peggy was pregnant again when the pillows started to disappear.

It started small, just like the first time. When they would curl up on the couch after putting Colleen to bed, Peggy would immediately take all three pillows and burrow into them, instead of leaning against her usual one. Daniel didn’t think much of it, but after a full week of Peggy hogging all the couch pillows, he began to wonder about the change.

A few days later, he came into the bedroom one night to find Peggy fluffing not only her pillows, but two spare ones from the guest room. 

“Peg?” he asked, “what's all this?”

She shrugged. “I just wasn't comfortable when I laid down, so I grabbed a couple more pillows.”

He nodded. Strange, but whatever made her happy. As long as she didn't try to build a wall between them.

She didn’t build a wall, but after starting the night in his arms, she awoke burrowed into her four pillows, cocooning herself into the bed. A part of him worried that she was subconsciously trying to get away from him because she wasn’t happy anymore, but other than the excess pillows, Peggy was the same as always. Maybe it was just a new habit.

But then, a few nights after her first cocoon, Daniel finally figured out why she was doing this, and it wasn’t just a new habit.

About one in the morning, as he slowly came into consciousness, the first thing he realized was that his arms were cold. Reaching down to pull the blankets back up, his hand met only air. Grunting, he tried to hook his foot on the sheets to pull them up to where he could reach, but once again there was nothing. Confused, he opened his eyes and saw what the problem was: Peggy had taken all the blankets with her into her little cocoon.

Now, Peggy was many things in bed, but she wasn’t a blanket hog. Never in the entire time that they had been sharing a bed had she stolen blankets like she had tonight. Actually, now that he thought about it, that wasn't true. The only other time she had nested with everything soft was when she’d been pregnant with Colleen. And that's why, as his sleep-addled brain put two and two together, Daniel began to laugh.

Peggy was pregnant again.

Grabbing his crutches from the wall, he made his way to the kitchen with a stupid grin on his face, thinking back to the first time he’d seen this. She had been almost three months pregnant with Colleen, and she’d starting nesting much like she was now. First the pillows on the couch, then the ones in the guest room, and then soon every blanket and pillow had been moved into their bedroom.

And the first night she burrowed into _everything_ had gone much like this one. Daniel had awoken cold, and when he’d searched for the sheets, he'd found them all wrapped around Peggy. Daniel sat up in bed, mostly confused and slightly annoyed by her stealing all of the covers, but with one good look at her, he realized that he didn't mind. Because to this day, he firmly believed that one of the most beautiful sights in the world was his wife, asleep in her nest, with every part of her curled around the small swell of her belly, protecting the child she hadn't even met. Although he did have to invest in really warm pajamas.

Back in the kitchen, Daniel leaned against the sink and grabbed a cup of water, taking a sip before another wave of happiness hit him and all he could do was reminisce and smile until his cheeks ached.

It seemed to be that the more their child grew, the stronger Peggy’s instinct to nest became. He’d already gotten used to her burrowing in at night, but once she entered her third trimester, she seemed to burrow everywhere she went. On the couch, she sunk in until it looked like she hadn’t moved in a week. In her new favorite loveseat, she would disappear under all the pillows and blankets she used to support her back and neck. Even at her desk in the office, she looked like she was settling down and not moving until the baby was born. Daniel had taken to calling her ‘mama bird’, mostly as a joke the first time, but the way she smiled when he used the nickname kept him using it.

But the nickname died when Colleen was born, as Peggy stopped nesting almost immediately. A part of him was relieved; he was getting tired of sleeping with no blankets, but another part of him missed seeing her so protective of their unborn child, but now he got to watch her become a warm and loving mother, which was better than anything he'd ever imagined before. So in the end, he was overjoyed to move on with their lives, to watch their family grow, but every once in awhile it was fun to recant the story.

About a year and a half after Peggy’s first nest, Jack found out that he and his wife were expecting a child, and after his first round with middle-of-the-night cravings, he came to Daniel asking advice.

_“Did Marge do anything strange when she was pregnant?” Jack asked out of the blue as he and Daniel were setting up the crib._

_Daniel immediately broke out in a smile. “Why do you ask?”_

_“Well, Ruby woke me up at one in the morning just craving ribs, and so I had to go and drive an hour each way to find a 24 hour mart and buy her some. Not that I minded, not really, at least, but it’s just so strange, so I was wondering if that was normal or not.”_

_“Cravings are pretty standard; Peg always wanted peaches, but some of the other quirks are different for every woman. For example,” Daniel sat back and chuckled, “Peggy nested.”_

_“You mean like rearranging all the furniture? Yeah, Ruby does that. I tripped over the coffee table one day.” Jack tightened a screw on the legs, glancing over at Daniel._

_“No, I mean she nested._ Actually _nested. She collected all the pillows and blankets and burrowed into them every night.”_

_Jack sat back, looking at Daniel incredulously. “Seriously?”_

_He nodded. “Just like a bird.”_

_Jack began to laugh, so hard that tears began to form in his eyes. “I can just imagine… this stubborn woman, who could rip the world to shreds…” he dissolved into laughter again._

Daniel’s musings were interrupted by small hands wandering over his chest, nails lightly scratching until they settled on his shoulders and Peggy’s face burrowed into the crook of his neck, her front pressed against his back.

“Hey, Peg. Sorry if I woke you.” Daniel whispered, leaning against her for support.

“It's okay.” Her voice was slurred with sleep, and he felt her stifle a yawn before continuing. “What are you doing up?”

He smiled, briefly wondering if she had any idea about the second little miracle growing inside her. “I was a little cold. Someone stole all the blankets,” he teased.

“Did not.” Even half asleep, she went on the defensive.

Daniel chuckled, turning around to face her and only catching a glimpse of her features before she burrowed back into his neck.

He wrapped an arm around her, keeping the other one on the sink for stability. “Are you sure? Did you happen to see your side of the bed when you got up?”

Peggy paused, and he could just see her trying to remember what she saw. “Oh,” she finally said, “sorry, I guess you're right. I don't usually do that.”

He pressed a kiss to her hair and she burrowed closer, making him smile. “You’re right, you haven't done this in a while.”

“Mmhmm. Not since I was pregnant.”

He held a baited breath, waiting for her to connect the dots, but all she seemed to do was start to doze on his shoulder.

“If I remember right, you stopped that after you had Colleen,” he pressed, trying to get her to figure it out for herself, but she only hummed in response. God, was he going to have to spell it out for her?

“Peg,” he started, “if you only stole the blankets when you were pregnant, and you're doing it again, what would that mean?” Daniel felt silly giving her a riddle in the middle of the night, but he didn't think he could keep this to himself any longer.

She froze, and he did too, and suddenly her head popped up and she looked at him, eyes wide with realization.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. She looked down and ticked off her fingers, calculating something he couldn't begin to figure out. Then she looked back at him, a smile slowly spreading across her lips.

“It's possible…” she started, biting her lip as her smile grew even more. “I'm late, and if the bed was any sort of sign…”

“I think it is. Believe me, I remember very clearly being cold for seven months.” He chuckled and moved his hand from the small of her back to her belly, gently pressing as though he could reach the tiny life within.

Peggy laughed and placed her hand on top of his. “You’re so very patient with me, and for that, I thank you.”

“You don’t have to, you’re always patient with the ones you love.” Daniel chuckled again and moved his hand from her stomach to her cheek. “Colleen’s gonna be a big sister,” he blurted, his sudden realization too much to keep to himself.

She leaned into his touch with one of the biggest grins he had ever seen on her. “You’re going to be a father again.”

“And you a mum.” 

She kissed him, a bit sloppily because of the grins they both wore, and soon they had to pull away because Peggy started laughing, and then Daniel felt a swell of happiness in his chest and he couldn’t help but to laugh along with her.

He couldn’t believe it. They were going to be parents again. When people asked how many kids he had, he would be able to say ‘two’, and he would get to brag about how Colleen looked exactly like her mom, and perhaps how the new little one looked like him.

They finally managed to suppress their excitement so as not to wake Colleen, and Peggy burrowed into his shoulder again, pressing light kisses against his skin.

Not long after that, she tugged on him a bit, urging him away from the counter, still smiling. “Let’s go back to bed.”

“Just give me a few minutes.” He picked up his crutches. “I have to get another blanket - if there's any left.”

She smiled sheepishly. “There might not be. But I have plenty to spare.” 

She began walking back to their room and he followed, murmuring to her as he caught up. “Will you share?”

“Probably not. But you can join me.”

They walked into their room and Peggy crawled back into her nest and opened the covers, inviting him in. Hanging up his crutches, Daniel scooted across the bed and joined her, smiling as she tucked the covers around him and burrowed into his arms.

He pulled her closer and settled in, admiring how comfortable he was. “You make a pretty good nest, mama bird.”

He felt her smile against his chest. “Call it a guilty pleasure, but I like that pet name.” She peeked up at him, a glare edging into her gaze. “As long as you never say it in front of anyone outside of this room.”

“I won’t. Believe me, there’s a lot of secrets of mine that you could tell. I couldn’t look any of the agents in the eye if they knew even one of them.”

“That’s why we can never divorce. We know too much about each other.” He could hear the amusement in her voice even though she was starting to mumble as she slipped back into sleep.

“Yeah, that’s why.” He jested, tracing a finger up her spine.

“That’s not the only reason. It’s mostly because I love you too much to let you go. But secrets are another reason.”

Daniel was always amazed by how much his heart leapt every time she said those three words, no matter how many times he heard them. “I love you too, Peggy.”

He listened to her breath return to the slow, gentle rhythm of sleep before drifting off himself, dreaming of their new, growing family.


End file.
